The NEAR Foundation, the non-profit entity responsible for the NEAR protocol, has announced a significant reduction in its workforce. This strategic shift is aimed at streamlining operations and enhancing efficiency. The decision to cut 40% of its workforce, affecting 35 jobs, comes in response to feedback from the NEAR Foundation Council, which raised concerns about the organization’s effectiveness and its tendency to overcommit to multiple projects.
Despite this, the NEAR Foundation has seen substantial progress recently. In 2023, the NEAR Protocol became the home to three of the top ten web3 applications, garnered a record-breaking user base, and strengthened its collaboration with the Ethereum community.
Illia Polosukhin, CEO of the NEAR Foundation, revealed that the areas primarily affected by the layoffs include the marketing, communication, and business development teams. The decision to streamline the core team and focus on a narrower set of higher-impact activities was deemed to better serve the organization’s goals. Polosukhin reassured that the engineering team would continue its regular operations and that the NEAR Foundation is committed to supporting the employees affected by these layoffs.
Despite the restructuring, the NEAR Foundation aims to maintain its robust financial position. The foundation’s treasury remains well-managed and financially sound, holding over $285 million in fiat currency, assets exceeding $1 billion in NEAR tokens, and managing $70 million in investments and loans. This strong financial foundation allows the NEAR Foundation to adapt to the cryptocurrency industry while executing a more focused approach to its mission.
Simultaneously, the NEAR token has seen a significant increase in value, capturing the attention of investors and enthusiasts alike. In the past 24 hours, the NEAR token has seen a remarkable 19.99% increase, with its current trading price at $3.77. The market capitalization of the NEAR token has also experienced significant growth, rising by 19.95% to reach a total of $3.78 billion.
The decision by the NEAR Foundation to reduce its workforce is part of a broader trend in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space. Numerous firms have recently undergone similar reorganizations, often involving layoffs, as they strive to optimize their operations, enhance their offerings, and refine their strategies. In November 2023, the prominent NFT marketplace OpenSea downsized its workforce by 50% as part of its “2.0 strategy,” emphasizing community engagement, product development, and reliability. In October of the same year, Parity Technologies, a leading blockchain infrastructure provider behind the Polkadot ecosystem, also experienced organizational changes.
This News Article was automatically generated by Bob the Bot (AI)
| Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Geography | Global |
| Countries | |
| Sentiment | neutral |
| Relevance Score | 1 |
| People | Illia Polosukhin |
| Companies | OpenSea, NEAR Foundation, Parity Technologies, NEAR Foundation Council, Ethereum community |
| Currencies | Ethereum, fiat currency, NEAR Protocol |
| Securities | None |
